1997 Ford Mustang Seat Belts
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
1997 FORD MUSTANG PASSENGER SIDE SEAT BELT WILL NOT RETRACT, DRIVERS SIDE RETRACTS ABOUT 98% OF THE TIME, 2% OF THE TIME, ITS RENDERED USELESS LIKE THE PASSENGER SIDE. FORD NOTIFIED, WAS TOLD IT WAS "OWNER ERROR". I DON'T THINK SO. *JB
DRIVERS SIDE SEAT BELT FAILS TO FUNCTION, WILL NOT CATCH/STOP FORWARD MOTION WHEN JERKED/PULL ON. I ASK MECHANIC TO LOOK AT IT WHEN IT STOPPED RETRACTING. CAR WAS IN FOR AN OIL CHANGE. HE ADVISED ME THAT THE SEAT BELF WILL NOT FUNCTION IF I WERE IN AN ACCIDENT, OFFERING NO DRIVER RESTRAINT. BASICLY THE CAR IS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE.*AK
SEAT BELTS ON DRIVER'S SIDE FAILED ABOUT 2 YEARS AGO AND WERE REPLACE DWITH ONE FROM JUNK YARD. NOW THE ONE ON THE PASSENGER SIDE IS LOCKED UP (BELT WON'T EXTEND). THIS IS ON A 1997 FORD MUSTANG V-6. *AK
THE FRONT SEAT BELTS IN THIS VEHICLE DOES NOT LOCK DURING AND EMERGENCY. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. *NM
BOTH FRONT SEAT BELTS ARE JAMMED AND WILL NOT RETRACT. I HAVE ALWAYS HAD THIS PROBLEM WITH BOTH BELTS, BUT HAVE ALWAYS MANAGED TO HAVE THEM RETRACT BACK. NOW BOTH BELTS ARE SITTING IN THE FRONT SEATS AS BOTH BELTS ARE TOO SHORT TO FASTEN WHEN DRIVING. THIS IS A HUGE PROBLEM AND IS DANGEROUS TO BOTH FRONT SEAT PASSENGERS. NLM
DRIVER'S SIDE SHOULDER BELT IS FRAYING WITH BELT EXTENDED, NOT ABLE TO RETRACT BACK THROUGH SLEEVE. PLEASE DESCRIBE DETAILS.*AK
SEATBELTS ON BOTH SIDES WILL NOT RETRACT. PASSENGER'S SIDE SEATBELT COMPLETELY IS INOPERABLE. DEALER CONTACTED. *AK
FRONT SEAT BELTS FAIL TO RESTRAT AFTER BEING RELEASED. HAVE CONTACTED DEALERSHIP, AND WAS INFORMED BY SERVICE MANAGER THAT RETRACTOR HAD TO BE REPLACED.*AK
NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK
IN 1999 AT 37,000 MILES THE DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BELT RETRACTOR FAILED. RECENTLY AT JUST UNDER 50,000 MILES THE PASSENGER SEAT BELT RETRACTOR FAILED. THE CAR WAS BROUGHT TO THE DEALER, CAPITOL FORD AT 50,471 MILES. THE DEALER STATED THAT BECAUSE THE MILEAGE EXCEEDED 50,000 IT WOULD NOT BE REPAIRED UNDER WARRANTY. THE FACT THAT WE HAVE AN EXTENDED SERVICE PLAN WARRANTY DID NOT CHANGE FORD'S RESPONSE. I AM CONTACTING YOU NOW BECAUSE I FEEL THAT FORD MOTOR COMPANY IS BEING UNREASONABLE REGARDING THE WARRANTY REPAIR OF THIS IMPORTANT SAFETY FEATURE. THESE SEATBELTS SHOULD NEVER FAIL AND THE FACT THAT BOTH OF THEM HAVE FAILED SEEMS TO POINT TO A DEFECT THAT SHOULD TRIGGER A RECALL. YOUR ASSISTANCE IN THIS MATTER WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.*AK
SEATBELT RESTRAINT HAS COMPLETELY BROKEN AFTER BEING DIFFICULT TO RETRACT.*AK
SEAT BELT JAMS IN GUIDE OVER DRIVERS SHOULDER BY FOLDING OVER AND BECOMMING TOO WIDE FOR THE GUIDE SLOT. THIS RENDERS THE SEATBELT USELESS IN A CRASH. FORD MOTOR CO AND DEALER HAVE IGNORED MY REQUESTS TO MAKE THE REPAIR. IT IS VERY DANGEROIUS.
FRONT SEAT BELTS FAILED TO RETRACT BACK TO ORIGINAL POSITION AFTER USEAGE. TOOK TO DEALER , AND MECHANIC INDICATED NOTHING WAS WRONG AFTER PUTTING BELTS BACK. HAS SINCE REAPPEARED A WEEK LATER. *AK
SEAT BELT HAS ALWAYS HAD A PROBLEM WITH RETRACTING. IT HAS NOW BEEN PULLED OUT ALL THE WAY AND WILL NOT GO BACK IN. IT CANNOT BE USED IN THIS CONDITION AS IT POSES A SAFETY PROBLEM. DEALER HAS SAID A NEW SEAT BELT RETRACTING UNIT IS REQUIRED AND IT IS $90 PLUS $127.50 TO INSTALL. *AK
I PURCHASED THE FORD MUSTANG COBRA DURING JULY, 1997, AND CURRENTLY HAVE 16,850 MILES. THE DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BELT HAS WORN AT THE POING WHERE IT RETRACTS INTO THE FLOOR SUCH THAT IT MAY BREAK AT ANY TIME, ESPECIALLY IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT. BECAUSE OF THE WEAR LOCATION ON THIS SEATBELT, IT WOULD NOT NORMALLY BE NOTICED BY THE DRIVER. I WAS UNAWARE OF THIS UNSAFE BELT UNTIL SOMEONE OUTSIDE THE CAR WHILE THE DOOR WAS OPEN, AND WHILE I HAD MY SEAT BELT FASTENED, POINTED OUT THIS UNSAFE CONDITION. I HAVE NOTIFIED FORD MOTOR COMPANY CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE CENTER BY LETTER DATED OCTOBER 30, 2000, REQUESTING GUIDANCE. FORD HAS NOT RESPONDED TO MY INFORMATION AND REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE. *AK
NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK
SEAT BELT BADLY WORN FROM SHARP PLASTIC COVER AND SHARP SPRING ROLLER, NOT APPARANT UNLESS BELT PULLED OUT (DIRVER WOULD NOT NORMALLY NOTICE). *AK
SEAT BELTS JAM, DON'T RETRACT, CAN'T PULL OUT TO PUT ON. SEAT BELT MATERIAL FOLDS OVER CAUSING DOUBLING OF FABRIC AND JAMMING IN GUIDE MECHANISM.
SEAT BELT ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE DOES NOT RETRACT. THE BELT IS HANGING OUT OF MECHANISM. THE DEALER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED ABOUT THE PROBLEM. THE PROBLEM HAS NOT BEEN CORRECTED. *AK
SEAT BELT JAMMED. NLM
Trend Over Time
Complaints by year
Other Issues
Common problems reported
Quick Summary
The 1997 Ford Mustang has 20 Seat Belts complaints on file. 2 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.